Anna Bessonova. This name appeared a lot on the pages of the newspaper
"Komanda" last 2 years, but all that was in different reports. And
Anya deserves her own interview. First, she is a Ukrainian Cup 1999 holder,
Champion of I Ukrainian Games in final apparatus, at last, the bronze medallist
in Team competition from World Championships 1999 in Osaka. Second, Bessonova is
a gymnast of interesting and rarely now used style. Third, she is a daughter of
legendary football player of Dynamo Kyiv (Vladimir Bessonov) and of famous
gymnast Victoria Serikh (now Victoria Anatolievna is one of the first coaches of
Ukrainian Sports Committee). Sure, the fact of famous parents doesn't mean
anything. The cases when children of Champions step on the path of the parents
is very rare. But the aphorism "On the children of genius nature is
resting" doesn't suit here. Perharps, most of the sportsmen tried all
"wonderful" things of the modern sports don't want their children to
do sports. Victoria Bessonova also didn't want her daughter to go in for sports.
She imagined her daughter on the ballet stage. When Anya was three years old,
she started to train in choreography school , then danced in "Kiyanochka".
She performed in Opera Palace and Ukraine Palace. But in five years, young girl
said : "I want to be a gymnast, I will be a gymnast!". So the mother
had to bring her daughter to Albina Deruigina, with who and she trained earlier.
Albina said to her old pupil: "Make a group and train". So Anna
Bessonova first trained with her mom. But dances she didn't leave at first.
That's why. like her mom thinks, Anna has special, clasical style of performing

V.B - I would like to thank to all, who helped Anya to become a gymnast -
takes the word Victoria Bessonova, - those are not the only coaches. Anya worked
with lots of choreographers - and in school, and in "Kiyanochka" and
in sport...Specially we would like to thank Anya's first dance teacher - Ester
Vladimirovna (her surname I don't remember, unfortunately). She made Anna to love
choreography, culture of movements. When I started to work as a coach, my pupil
were also going to Ester Vladimirovna. In "Kiyanochka" Anya got
lots of attention from the head of the ensemble and Lidia Antonicheva. Well, for
some time I hoped that my daughter will be a dancer, but, it's not her destiny,
like life shows

- Why didn't you like that your daughter will do gymnastics? Because of
hard trainings?

V.B - Not only because of that. Dancing is also not very easy hobby. The main
reason was that I knew on my own expression how unfair can be this sport

- Do you think that your RSG carrier was successful?

V.B- Not a lot...Certainly, in sport I got lots of titles : i was a world AA
group champion, not once won the medals of USSR Championships in finals, in AA
wasn't lower than six place....But I always felt that I can do more.
Unfortunately, in rhythmic gymnastics gymnast solves not a lot.

- When you started to train Anna, did you tell her about "the other
side of the medal"?

V.B - Coaches usually don't tell gymnasts in the judging problems. But girls
understand all. Sense of fairness is much more developed in their souls. But
Anya always liked gymnastics.

- Anya seems to be a patient and quiet person. Is that
true?

V.B - Yes. She is like that. But till 6 years, Anya was very
difficult kid. I mean that you always had to look at her, she always tried to
climb somewhere for interesting things. But not because of naughtiness,
only because she had lots of energy and curiosity. Sometimes I had to just kick
her out of the hall. When I was getting home, my son asked me : "Don't
punish Anya, she worries so much". But all that stayed in the past. Now
there are no problems with Anya. Albina and Irina Deruigina, who train her last
4 years, either. Anya has very good characteristic, she always listens to
somebody's opinion.

A little from the author. Gymnasts are people very strong,
they have to go through hard trainings. Naughtiness and tears are not rare in
rhythmic gymnastics. But we never saw Anya crying or being naughty. On all
notices of the coach, Anya always answers: "I willl do that".

A.B - You won't help the deal with tears - Anya thinks - And to
be naughty isn't in my rules. Now Gymnastics is all in my life, so I have to do
it professionally.

- Tell a few words about your new routines...

A.B - We made 3 new compositions - with hoop, ball and rope.
Music is classical in common. Irina Deruigina (she creates all my routines)
think that it suit me more and I agree. Modern now cheerful style isn't for me

Another lyric digression. 14 years old, Anna Bessonova
competed on Youth Games 1998 in Moscow. . And then to reproduce moves and
elements so perfect, as Anya did, no one could do. There, in Moscow,
correspondent of "Komanda" remembered such episode. When Bessonova
ended her composition with ball under the romance "Gori, gori moya zvezda"
, the woman which sit next said : "Oh my God, how beautiful!". But
when the judges put for Anna the score lower than for Olga Belova, audience
started to shout : "Judges out!" and those shouting were said by
Moscow-livers...

- Anya, is it offensive to get lower scores than you deserve?

A.B - It's normal thing in gymnastics. Who gets low scores
very painful, won't be in our sport very long. I always try to search a reason
in myself, in my mistakes. There is can't be ideal performance at all

- Do you talk about your compositions at home with your mom?

A.B - We talk a lot about Rhythmic Gymnastics. Well, I talk with
my mom and about my private life.

V.B - When in august there was a Rhythmic Gymnastics competition
as I Ukrainian Games in the Kyiv's Palace of Sports, Vladimir spent the whole
day in the hall. Lots of people were surprised. At Home, when we had dinner, he
said all his impressions not about only Anya's routines, but and about the
routines' of other gymnasts and even in group apparatus. Some of those comments
were very good/ There are some things, on which the coach doesn't look and
sometimes they can play their rolls.

- And are wife and daughter interested in husband's/father's
success?

A.B - We always worry about father's team. When he played
himself, we often were going on the stadium. Well, but then I was little. Now I
have no time for that. Well, and I'm not interested in football, if CSKA doesn't
play

- What sports do you like, except Rhythmic Gymnastics?

- Figure skating and sports dancing. Earlier me and my mom were
going on dancing competition, which were in Kyiv. And sure thanks to my brother,
Sasha I started to like tennis (Alexander Bessonov studies tennis in
Barcelona, in tennis school, which head is Lewis Brugeyra, father of the famous
Spanish tennis player - Serzhi Brugeyra. It is interesting that in the same
school studies and one of the sons of Sergei Bubka)

V.B - Me and my husband tried to give daughter and son fully
different physical training.. Both perfectly can skate. We rested in Slovakia
and children learned to ski very fast. Now, to be honest, skiing is closed for
Sasha and Anya, they can get a serious injury

- I think that you go on holidays with the whole family not
very often?

V.B - I don't even remember when it was for the last time. But
this season me and Anya could go for some days to Barcelona to visit Sasha. He
misses us very much there and we miss him, for sure. Anya - specially. She
has ideal relations with brother. In fact, I think we were lucky with
children.

- What are the hobbies of Anna Besonova?

A.B. - I love to read books and sit in the Internet. Sometimes I
can spend some hours near computer

- It is known that you study not in sports internat, but in
normal school..

A.B - No, in 11th form I had to enter the internat. There the program
is lower

V.B - I would like to underline that till 11th class, Anya
studied not in normal, but in British school. In last few years, the education
wasn't so deep for her. Practically on all school subjects, Anya studied
separately. Lessons were after trainings. Sometimes the teacher was going from
us at 10 pm and later. Anya had good knowledge on all school subjects,
especially English. I worry that she lost a lot last few years...But you have to
sacrifice something for sport

- And the last, your plans on this season. This season is
special - Olympic...

- I have to get Sydney first. But I won't think only about
Sydney. Coaches will solve who goes and who stays. My deal is to train and
compete. Both I do very well and I want my routines to make other people happy.